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O conceito de sexualidade tem se modificado ao longo dos anos. É um dos indicadores de qualidade de vida, parte integrante da saúde e do bem-estar geral, não se restringindo a meta reprodutiva apenas, fortalece relações afetivas entre pessoas. A sexualidade feminina tem se alterado de modo que hoje se discute mais sobre questões antes impensáveis. No entanto, ainda há lacunas no conhecimento que devem ser estudadas para quebrar paradigmas e desfazer conceitos errôneos. O presente estudo realizou uma revisão integrativa da literatura sobre a saúde sexual feminina. Estudos originais foram obtidos nas bases de dados PubMed e SciELO utilizando os descritores: disfunção sexual, saúde sexual feminina, saúde da mulher, em português e inglês. O tema é extremamente amplo abrangendo questões físicas, anatômicas, sociais, biológicas, psicoemocionais além de diversos fatores externos. A vida sexual da mulher impacta diretamente na sua qualidade de vida e por ser complexa e individualizada, carece da atuação conjunta das diversas áreas do conhecimento e da saúde.

The objective of this work is to evaluate the introduction of bonding technology in the assembly of beverage filling machines. In this specific field, bonding has two potential great advantages with respect to welding, that are the speed of application and the absence of thermal distortions. Furthermore, since it presents fewer risks for safety at work, it allows the simultaneous execution of other assembly operations. On the other hand, the use of bonding requires a design process integrated by tests related to the specific application and operating conditions, that in the case of food machinery are: i) bonding of low surface roughness, austenitic stainless steel without surface preparation but degreasing; ii) contact of the joint with the chemically aggressive substances used for cleaning and sanitization. In the present study, first a technical-economical comparison with welding (business case) was done on a component of the structure of a filling machine. Then the adhesive appropriate for the application was identified experimentally with tests on single-lap joints (SLJ) with different surface finishes and subjected to chemical aging under the cleaning and sanitization agents. Finally, the scale-up to a larger and more complex structure was performed by joining two modules of the outer casing of a filling machine.

Shape-adaptive or morphing capability in both aerospace structures and wind turbineblade design is regarded as significant to increase aerodynamic performance and simplifymechanisms by reducing the number of moving parts. The underlying bistable behavior ofasymmetric cross-ply composites makes them a suitable candidate for morphing applications. Todate, various theoretical and experiential studies have been carried out to understand and predictthe bistable behavior of asymmetric laminates and especially the curvature obtained in their stableconfigurations. However, when the bi-stable composite plate is integrated with shape memory alloywires to control the curvature and to snap from a stable configuration to the other (shape memoryalloy composite, SMAC), the identification of the design parameters, namely laminate edge length,ply thickness and ply orientation, is not straightforward. The aim of this article is to present theformulation of an optimization problem for the parameters of an asymmetric composite laminateintegrated with pre-stressed shape memory alloys (SMA) wires under bi-stability and a minimumdeflection requirement. Wires are modeled as an additional ply placed at the mid-plane of thecomposite host plate. The optimization problem is solved numerically in MATLAB and optimaldesign variables are then used to model the SMAC in ABAQUS&trade, Finite element results arecompared against numerical results for validation.

The cohesive zone model (CZM) has found wide acceptance as a tool for the simulation of delamination in composites and debonding in bonded joints and various implementations of the cohesive zone model dedicated to fatigue problems have been proposed in the past decade. In previous works, the authors have developed a model based on cohesive zone to simulate the propagation of fatigue defects where damage acts on cohesive stiffness, with an initial (undamaged) stiffness representative of that of the entire thickness of an adhesive layer. In the case of a stiffness that is order of magnitude higher than the previous one (for instance, in the simulation of the ply-to-ply interface in composites), the model prediction becomes inaccurate. In this work, a new formulation of the model that overcomes this limitation is developed. Finite element simulations have been conducted on a mode I, constant bending (constant G)-loaded double cantilever beam (DCB) joint to assess the response of the new model with respect to the original one for varying initial stiffness K0 and cohesive strength &sigma, 0. The results showed that the modified model is robust with respect to changes of two orders of magnitude in initial stiffness and of a factor of two in &sigma, 0.

Despite the presence of experienced and multidisciplinary staff is now essential due to the increasing complexity of clinical research, many national collective health contracts do not yet contemplate the new professional figures. This instability risks causing an alarming professional gap, especially for non-profit clinical research. For this reason, we would try to evaluate the extent to which the problem is widespread among Italian clinical research coordinators, verifying how much the Italian institutes have permanently integrated this professional figure into organic plant, through stable and specific employment contracts. In November 2016, when the Italian Government has declared for the first time its intention to prevent further renewal of contracts with atypical employment, we conducted a survey with the intent of mapping the extent of the contractual issues related to the figure of the clinical research coordinator. Two years later, we repeated the survey to see if something was changed and if it was any improvement in the employment situation. In November 2016, only a small fraction of the respondents (13.8%) was hired with a permanent contract, while the majority (73.2%) were employed with an atypical one. Regarding the impossibility to renew the atypical contracts due to the new Government provisions starting from January 2017: the 67.5% of the respondents stated that the issue would directly affect him. Two years later, the situation looks even worse: only the 11.5% of the respondents are hired on a permanent contract, while there is a very high percentage (74.8%) of atypical contracts, with even some coordinators who say they have been working for several months as unpaid volunteers. It is interesting to note that over 30% of staff with atypical contracts work in research institutes and research-related scientific societies, with a strong interest in non-profit clinical research. Adopt Clinical Trials Units officially and contractually recognized would be essential to bring back our nation on the top of the world health systems ranking, but yet the Italian research-dedicated infrastructures continue to be a ghost reality, deeply characterized by a continuous professional turnover and by the lack of long-term prospects. In the absence of a permanent solution, Italy is unlikely to reach the required standards, denying patients of possible therapeutic available options. Our non-profit research will pay the most for it.

The increasing complexity that characterizes the world of clinical trials, both in terms of procedures and bureaucracy, has made it necessary to create dedicated infrastructures composed of experienced and qualified personnel, who constantly work to ensure high ethical and qualitative standards. A key role in these infrastructures is played by the clinical research coordinator, a key figure able to manage the workflow required, placing himself as a reference for the coordination of the various activities and professional figures involved. The literature has widely demonstrated how the presence of this professional figure is a valid contribution both from a documentary and administrative point of view as well as a crucial resource for what concerns the indicators of ethics and quality of research. Despite that, there is no yet an institutional recognition of the professional figure, neither a specific economical agreement within the National Health System. The lack of institutional recognition is causing a worrying phenomenon of migration of qualified personnel towards contract research organizations and pharmaceutical companies. That could be detrimental to the competitiveness of Italian clinical research and hinder the possibility of offering innovative experiments therapies to patients, with serious ethical consequences.

The work illustrates how building parameters of the Additive Manufacturing process Fused Filament Fabrication can affect not only the mechanical properties but also the surface wettability and morphology. Wettability and morphology are relevant factors in bonded joints performance. Advantages of polymeric additive manufacturing are to allow a re-design of components with locally controlled properties and integrated functions. Major limitations are related to the lack of material testing standardization and constraints due to the build volume and to the object orientation for printability: the latter problem scan be addressed with the use of bonded joints that allow to create bigger assemblies from smaller parts optimally designed to take advantage of material orthotropy and without the structural drawbacks. In this study, two materials are considered, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene and polylactideacid. Wettability, surface morphology and mechanical strength have been determined at different combinations of nozzle temperature, print speed and layer thickness.

The study is aimed at developing a modular lattice base for automatic food machines, starting with a solution already patented by some of the authors. In this case, welded carpentry modules were interlocked with a system of profiles and metal inserts, also in welded carpentry, and the union was stabilized by structural adhesive bonding. Since welding involves long processing times and thermal distortions to be restored later, the driver of this study is to limit the use of welding as much as possible while increasing the modularity of the construction. For this purpose, various solution concepts have been generated where a common feature is the presence of rods of the same geometry and section to be joined together in configurable structural nodes. The concepts are qualitatively evaluated in light of the requirements, and the selected concept is digitally and physically prototyped. The prototype has been in service from over 5 years without showing any problems whatsoever.

A má qualidade de vida de estudantes da área da saúde está intimamente relacionada a algumas variáveis, tais como transtornos de alimentação e do sono. Estudantes da área da saúde recebem informações sobre nutrição adequada, no entanto, isso não implica que esses conhecimentos sejam seguidos por comportamentos alimentares apropriados. Em relação ao sono que é um elemento fundamental para a saúde do ser humano, visto que está envolvido em múltiplos mecanismos fisiológicos sistêmicos, sabe-se que a necessidade fisiológica do sono varia muito conforme a idade. Normalmente, adultos jovens necessitam, em média, de sete a nove horas de sono por noite. Dessa forma, o presente estudo tem por objetivo elucidar os principais fatores relacionados a má qualidade da alimentação e do sono nos estudantes da área da saúde e as consequências desses hábitos no organismo e no rendimento acadêmico. Foi realizada uma revisão integrativa de estudos da literatura obtidos por buscas nas bases de dados: PubMed, SciELO e BVS, utilizando os descritores: comportamento alimentar, estudantes de medicina, distúrbios do sono. Foram incluídos estudos publicados entre 2015 e 2020, em língua portuguesa, inglesa e espanhola. A partir desses dados foi feita uma compilação das informações mais relevantes para a construção do presente trabalho. Foi verificado que estudantes do curso de medicina apresentam hábitos alimentares pouco saudáveis, sendo caracterizados por baixo consumo de vegetais, frutas e água, e uma maior ingesta de carne vermelha, comidas industrializadas e doces. A literatura mostra uma estreita correlação entra a imagética corporal e o comportamento alimentar. A má qualidade no sono está correlacionada a aprendizagem superficial dos estudantes universitários da área da saúde. Há também uma estreita ligação entre a breve duração de sono e maiores chances de desenvolver hiperlipidemias, acidentes automobilísticos e doenças arteriais coronarianas. Foram apresentados os diversos fatores de risco para doenças crônicas não transmissíveis em estudantes da área da saúde, dentre as quais destacam-se neoplasias, distúrbios metabólicos, doenças dos sistemas nervoso, respiratório, cardiovascular e osteoarticular, principalmente. Assim, os resultados evidenciam as diferenças entre o estilo de vida e o recomendado, sobretudo em relação ao sono e a ingesta de alimentos. Esta pesquisa contribui com a obtenção de mais informações sobre os fatores que influenciam no processo de adoecimento em estudantes universitários, sobretudo acadêmicos da área da saúde.

Adhesive bonding can disclose the possibility to additively manufacture (AM) smaller, highly optimized objects to be bonded in post-production into/onto larger components. However, the infill shape and percentage can influence the fracture toughness of a bonded joint as it emerges from the literature Since the choice of the infill yields also a significant impact on manufacturing time, it is important to assess clearly its influence on bonded joint strength in order to balance strength and manufacturing issues. Therefore, in this work the Mode I fracture toughness of PLA bonded joints obtained by FFF will be assessed as a function of infill percentage, from solid (100% infill) to 20% infill. Test will be done using a Double Cantilever Beam (DCB) joint bonded with a PolyUrethane (PU), room temperature-curing adhesive.

This work deals with the experimental validation of the proposed specimens geometries which design process through Finite Element Method was presented during AIAS 2019 and published afterwards [1]. In particular, non-conventional miniaturized specimen geometry compliant to ASTM E8 and ISO 6892, specifically developed to work with MaCh3D [2], an innovative miniaturized tensile testing machine, were considered. The size-reduction of specimens is advantageous both in terms of material and equipment: smaller specimens require lower forces to be broken, hence a compact tensile testing machine can perform the mechanical characterization activity. In this experimental validation, mechanical properties determined using the three proposed MaCh3D miniaturized specimens are compared to full-size ISO 6892 samples. Specimens were cut from AISI 304 stainless steel plates, with different thickness according to specimens requirements. Good accordance has been found between the standard and non-standard geometries.

A Organização Mundial da Saúde define saúde como um estado de bem estar físico, mental e social com ausência de qualquer doença. Porém, apesar dessa definição já ser consolidada entre a população mundial, a definição de qualidade de vida, objeto do presente estudo, ainda carece de delimitações. Nos últimos anos tem sido crescente a preocupação sobre a qualidade de vida na formação dos profissionais da saúde, devido à alta prevalência de transtornos de ansiedade e depressão além de outros transtornos associados também entre estudantes dessa área. Dessa forma, o objetivo do presente estudo foi identificar os principais fatores de risco que interferem na qualidade de vida dos estudantes de medicina, bem como expor quais são os transtornos mentais prevalentes nessa população. Trata-se de uma revisão de integrativa de literatura realizada com buscas nas bases de dados PubMed, SciELO e LILACS, partir dos descritores: depressão, ansiedade, qualidade de vida, estudantes de medicina, saúde mental. Foram incluídos trabalhos publicados nos últimos 10 anos e artigos relevantes para essa revisão. Os resultados foram divididos de acordo com as abordagens analisadas: psicológica, econômica, social e física, além de incluir a análise da influência curricular na qualidade de vida dos estudantes. O domínio psicológico é uma preocupação predominante entre os estudos sobre qualidade de vida dos estudantes de medicina devido ao aumento da prevalência de transtornos de ansiedade e depressão entre essa população. Foi observada alta prevalência de transtornos de ansiedade, depressão e ansiedade e depressão combinados entre os estudantes. No domínio econômico muitos alunos apresentaram dificuldades no início da graduação que contribui para necessidade de bolsas assistenciais ou de empréstimos para se manter com moradia, transporte e alimentação. Já no domínio social os estudos demonstram a importância do componente social para a qualidade de vida, definida nos parâmetros sociais subjetivos como amor, prazer, felicidade, realização pessoal e bem-estar. O domínio físico destacou-se pela preocupação dos estudantes com atividade física e saúde, grande destaque se deu principalmente a qualidade precária desses estudantes nesses itens. Por fim, quanto à influência curricular há reclamações sólidas, principalmente acerca da quantidade de conteúdo e do pequeno tempo para aprendê-lo durante formação. Assim, a qualidade de vida dos estudantes brasileiros de medicina sofre influência de várias esferas da vida diária e das exigências do curso, ainda carece de melhorias, prejudicando a formação dos futuros médicos no país.

This paper presents modeling of the tensile and failure behavior of different nodular cast iron microstructures under variable stress triaxialities. The model is based on a Representative Volume Element (RVE) approach, which reproduces periodic stochastic distributions of nodules within a 3-D cell. Three cast iron matrices, from fully ferritic to fully pearlitic, are considered as representing the various nodular cast iron classes in relation to strength and ductility. Ductile damage and shear damage models are used for ferrite and pearlite, respectively. Several values of stress triaxiality are applied within the RVE. It is found that numerical results support experimental findings in relation to the local strain distribution and damage initiation and accumulation, reproducing macroscopic tensile responses with good approximation. As highlighted by experiments, triaxiality is found to have a strong effect on material ductility and void volume fraction growth.

Late blight caused by Phytophthora infestans is the most devastating disease of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) and causes important economically losses if not properly controlled. Control is achieved mainly by preventive fungicide applications. However, even if curative applications are discouraged because they increase the risk of resistance development in the target pathogens, in practice fungicides may be applied also when the disease is already present, a situation that commonly occurs in the field. The aim of this work was to study the curative activity of several fungicides toward P. infestans to determine their efficacy when applied after the infection process. Nine trials were performed in greenhouse using potted tomato plants that were treated 24 h after inoculation. Disease severity was assessed three times from the development of the symptoms on the untreated plants and data analysed using a linear mixed model. Differences in post-infection control between the different chemical classes were found. Metalaxyl-M and cymoxanil showed the best curative activity while among the CAA fungicides, a good efficacy was expressed by dimethomorph. Interestingly, evidence of synergy between active ingredients having different modes of action was observed such as in the mixtures containing dimethomorph + ametoctradin, dimethomorph + pyraclostrobin and fosetyl-Al + propamocarb. This study provided useful information on the post-infection activity of some fungicides used to control tomato late blight and should be taken into account to perform more in depth studies at the field level and to improve the management strategies of the disease.

The possible use of cell therapies for neurological lesions and disorders is regarded as a very promising strategy. However, many issues related to cell type, tissue donor, expected biological action etc., are still open. In this study human mesenchymal stem cells derived from different fetal and adult tissues were examined in order to explore growth and neurotrophic factor synthesis and biological action, also considering the individual variability of the donors. Cells were derived from different human tissues and characterized according to the guidelines of the International Society for Cellular Therapy. Growth and neurotrophic factor synthesis was evaluated by real time PCR, biological assays and ELISA. It was found that human mesenchymal stem cells produce vascular endothelial-, nerve-growth factor (VEGF, NGF), brain-derived-, ciliary- and glial-derived neurotrophic factors (BDNF, CDGF, GDNF), which are neuroprotective molecules, but the source and the donor influence the synthesis rate. Accordingly, it is suggested that the source and the individual variability are key issues to be considered in the perspective of the clinical use of mesenchymal stem cells in neurological disorders.

In previous works, the authors showed that the interleaving of an electrospun nylon nanofibrous mat at the interface between adjacent plies of a composite laminate increases the delamination strength. In particular, the nanomat acts a net-like reinforcing web, enabling a ply-to-ply bridging effect. This reinforcing property of the nanomats can be potentially used in other applications which need to improve the fracture resistance of interfaces, such as adhesive bonding. The present work analyses the feasibility of an electrospun polymeric nanomat as adhesive carrier and reinforcing web in industrial bonding. Thus the adhesive is used to pre-impregnate a nylon nanofibrous mat that is then placed at the interface between two metal pieces and then cured. The aim of the work is first to assess the effectiveness of this procedure, by comparison of the mode-I fracture toughness measured with DCB (Double Cantilever Beam) tests with and without the reinforcement in the adhesive layer. For this purpose, a 2024-T3 aluminum alloy will be bonded using a general purpose, one-part epoxy resin with low viscosity.

The effect of Nylon 6,6 electrospun nanofibers interleaved in composite laminate material is simulated numerically to investigate the differences in the fracture strength between a nanomodified laminate interface and the corresponding non-modified material. DCB and ENF mechanical test results from a previous work of some of the authors are used as reference for the identification of cohesive zone model by numerical simulations with the finite element software Abaqus using implicit time integration. A bilinear damage law came out to be necessary to match the experimental behavior of the nanomodified interface, while the virgin material can be represented through a simple linear damage law. The necessity of using a bilinear damage law has been related to the crack bridging and to the obstacle to crack growth caused by nanofibers.

The cohesive zone model (CZM) has found a wide acceptance as a tool for the simulation of debonding in adhesive joints. Recently, fatigue-devoted implementations of CZM have been proposed. In earlier works, the authors have developed a model of the cohesive zone able to correctly simulate the propagation of fatigue of two-dimensional (2D) defects in joints. The procedure has been implemented in the finite-element software (Abaqus®) using software-embedded subroutines. That model was then extended to 3D cracks with quasi-straight crack front, where G could be evaluated by contour-integral on slices along the crack front.Inspiring to the approach used by Xie and Biggers in the case of virtual crack extension technique, the aim of this work is to extend the fatigue crack growth evaluation to 3D cracks of general shape. The new procedure has been compared with the previously developed one in the case of planar, 3D cracks showing a good agreement. The evolution of a corner crack is also shown as a qualitative ...

Computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD-CAM) technology may be used to produce custom intraradicular posts, but studies are lacking. The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the flexural properties (strength and modulus), failure mode, superficial morphology, and roughness of two CAD-CAM glass fiber posts (milled at different angulations) compared with a commercially available prefabricated glass fiber post. Three groups were tested (n = 10): PF (control group)– prefabricated glass fiber post; C-Cd–diagonally milled post; and C-Cv–vertically milled post. A 3-dimensional virtual image was obtained from a prefabricated post, which guided the posterior milling of posts from a glass fiber disk (Trilor Blanks; Bioloren). Surface roughness and morphology were evaluated using confocal laser microscopy. Flexural strength and modulus were evaluated with the 3-point bend test. Data were submitted to one-way analysis of variance followed by the Student-Newman-Keuls post hoc test (α = 0.05). The fractured surfaces were evaluated with scanning electron microscopy. The superficial roughness was highest for PF and similar for the experimental groups. Morphological analysis shows different sizes and directions of the glass fibers along the post. The flexural strength was highest for PF (900.1 ± 30.4 > C-Cd − 357.2 ± 30.7 > C-Cv 101.8 ± 4.3 MPa) as was the flexural modulus (PF 19.3 ± 2.0 GPa > C-Cv 10.1 ± 1.9 GPa > C-Cd 7.8 ± 1.3 GPa). A CAD-CAM milled post seems a promising development, but processing requires optimizing, as the prefabricated post still shows better mechanical properties and superficial characteristics.

Alpha-mannosidosis (AM) is a lysosomal storage disorder caused by reduced activity of the enzyme alpha-mannosidase, leading to intracellular accumulation of mannose-rich oligosaccharides in various organs. Velmanase alfa (VA) is a human recombinant alpha-mannosidase approved in Europe in 2018 as enzyme replacement therapy for the treatment of non-neurological manifestations in mild to moderate AM patients. A post-authorization safety and efficacy registry called SPARKLE was designed as a multi-centre, multi-national, non-interventional, prospective cohort study. SPARKLE has two objectives. The first is to assess post-marketing safety and effectiveness of VA (product registry) the second is to gain new understanding of the natural course of AM (disease registry). In terms of effectiveness, the primary focus is to estimate the treatment response rate based on a multi-parametric response model. The effectiveness assessment includes the measurement of serum oligosaccharides, serum immunoglobulin G levels, endurance, pulmonary function, hearing tests, incidence of infections, use of antibiotics, psychotic events, questionnaires on quality of life and burden of disease for caregivers, among others. All patients affected by AM can participate into the registry, regardless of their treatment. Based on the current protocol, the study will be opened for participation for an indefinite time and each patient will be followed up for 15 years. The protocol does not foresee a pre-specified sample size and aims at including most of the patients treated with VA in clinical practice. The SPARKLE study will start in Europe in the second half of 2019.

Powdery mildew, caused by Golovinomyces orontii and Podosphaera xanthii, is a widespread disease that causes important losses in cucurbit production. To determine the aetiology and the epidemiology of cucurbit powdery mildew disease in the North of Italy, observations on the occurrence of the main disease-causing fungal species were conducted during the 2010, 2011 and 2012 growing seasons. Samples of infected leaves of zucchini, melon and pumpkin plants, either from field or greenhouse crops, were collected every 15–18 days from May to September/October. To identify the fungal species, both morphological observations based on the asexual stage and molecular identifications by a Multiplex-PCR reaction with species-specific primers were performed. Climatic parameters of temperature and relative humidity were also monitored. Pearson's correlation coefficient and Principal Component Analysis showed a negative significant correlation between the two species, and a peculiar epidemiological behaviour was also observed: the earlier infections were caused by G. orontii, which was the predominant species till the end of June–middle of July. At this time, this species progressively decreased in frequency and was replaced by P. xanthii that became the main species infecting cucurbits till the end of the growing season. As the two species have different ecological requirements, these seasonal variations in the cucurbit powdery mildew species composition could possibly be explained by the influence of temperature and relative humidity on the pathogen epidemiology during the growing season but also by the different overwintering strategies adopted by the two species.

The present work describes an experimental study about the shear strength and the mode I fracture toughness of adhesive joints with substrates pre-treated by pulsed laser ablation. An ytterbium-doped pulsed fiber laser was employed to perform laser irradiation on AA6082-T4 alloy. Morphological and chemical modifications were evaluated by means of surface profilometry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Thick adherend shear tests were carried out in order to assess the shear strength while the mode I fracture toughness was determined using the double cantilever beam. For comparison, control samples were prepared using classical surface degreasing. The results indicated that laser ablation has a favorable effect on the mechanical behavior of epoxy bonded joints; however, while a + 20% increase was recorded for shear strength, a remarkable threefold enhancement of fracture toughness was observed with respect to control samples. XPS analyses of treated substrates an...

Bull’s eye rot is an important postharvest disease affecting apples (Malus domestica) worldwide. Fruit infection occurs in the field, but rot lesions develop only after a period in cold storage (about 90 days). The disease is caused by fungi belonging to genus Neofabraea (N. vagabunda, N. malicorticis, N. perennans, and N. kienholzii) (Spotts et al. 2009). However, no data are available on the presence of species other than N. vagabunda in Italy. To verify the current causal agents of apple bull’s eye rot in the Emilia-Romagna region, a pathogen survey of apples stored in several local packinghouses and showing bull’s eye rot symptoms was carried out in 2014 and the causative agents identified. Small sections from the edges of rotten tissue of 100 fruits were placed on tomato agar (TA) and kept at 15°C. Sporulation was observed after 14 days of incubation. Mycelia originated from the single spore of 20 isolates were used for DNA extraction. PCR was used to amplify the β-tubulin (tub2) gene using primers F 5′-CTTTCTCCGTTGTCCCATCC-3′ and R 5′-GAACATTGCGCATCTGGTCC-3′ (Cao et al. 2013). After sequencing and sequence assembly, BLAST analysis showed that one isolate (M1) had 99% identity to N. malicorticis, while other isolates belonged to N. vagabunda. The sequence of N. malicorticis isolate was submitted to GenBank (accession no. KP263368). Morphological characteristics of N. malicorticis isolate were examined after 14 days of incubation on TA at 15°C. Colonies were circular, centrally umbonate, with abundant white floccose mycelium. Average growth rate was 22 ± 2 mm in 14 days. Conidia were one-celled, cylindrical, rounded at apex, aseptate, hyaline, and measured 6 to 16 μm (mean 10 ± 2.4 μm) × 2 to 5 μm (mean 3 ± 0.8 μm), similar to micro and intermediate conidia formed on oatmeal (Chen et al. 2015). To prove pathogenicity, Koch’s postulates were conducted on 10 ‘Cripps Pink’ apples, surface-sterilized, wounded, and inoculated with 20 μl conidial suspension (104 conidia ml–1). After 90 days of storage at 0°C, artificially infected apples showed lesions of 21 to 29 ± 1 mm diameter without conidiomata on peel surface (symptoms identical to those observed on apples that were originally obtained from cold storage). Water-only controls were symptomless. The pathogen was reisolated from decayed tissue. To our knowledge, this is the first report of N. malicorticis causing bull’s eye rot of apples in Italy. This finding suggests that, beside N. vagabunda, other species of Neofabraea may occur in Italy and this could represent an emerging problem on apples. Epidemiological studies performed on a wider scale could improve the knowledge of current Neofabraea species occurring in Italian orchards, leading to the adoption of specific control strategies to reduce fruit postharvest losses.

Cucurbit powdery mildew caused by Golovinomyces orontii is a serious disease that affects cucurbit crops in temperate areas. In northern Italy, the species is responsible for the early infections at the beginning of the growing season. However, chasmothecia have never been recorded in Italy and the impact of either asexual or sexual reproduction of G. orontii remains to be determined. To investigate and compare the genetic structure of Italian populations with those from the Czech Republic, where chasmothecia are sporadically recorded, seven housekeeping gene fragments (tef-1a, csI, ITS, H3, tub2, IGS and mtLSU) were amplified and used in a multilocus sequence typing (MLST) approach. The four-gamete test was performed to detect recombination between and within populations. Phylogeny was inferred using both Bayesian and minimum evolution analyses. Results from MLST revealed the presence of 141 single nucleotide polymorphisms and the existence of 13 different haplotypes. Phylogenetic analysis revealed the existence of two main distinct phylogenetic groups that were also highly genetically different, confirming that G. orontii is a species complex. Recombination was detected within both the phylogenetic groups and the geographical populations, indicating that sexual reproduction could have occurred. However, considering the lower haplotype diversity and the high frequency of ST3 (17 isolates) and ST7 (eight isolates) haplotypes, the Italian population could be predominantly clonal, while sexual reproduction may occasionally occur due to the introduction of genotypes similar to those from the Czech Republic.